Data Studio for Client Reporting

Google Data Studio is a powerful tool that can improve client reporting by allowing for the creation of customized dashboards that include data visualizations, and goal pacing by utilizing metrics from analytics, ads, facebook, and many other platforms. Using data studio can help you visually tell the story of how your marketing efforts are translating into increased traffic, leads, or revenue to your clients’ websites.

It can often be difficult to translate keyword ranking improvements or new user impressions into something tangible that clients can understand. Data Studio can help you visually tell that story.

Create Customized Dashboards

One of the most obvious benefits of the platform is that it allows you to fully customize your dashboards to match branding and showcase the key performance indicators that your clients care about the most. This allows your reports to be shared across all levels of the organization, from internal marketing teams, campaign managers, and C-level executives.

Aligning your reports with the correct brand colors and fonts can be a huge differentiator, even if it may seem trivial. Many clients respond very well to recognizing their own brand within the reports that you customize specifically for them.

Combine Data from Multiple Sources

The most widely used data source is Google Analytics, but Data Studio gives you the ability to combine data from multiple platforms. Easily import data from Google Ads, social media, influencer campaigns, Amazon, and just about any other digital network being utilized in your online marketing strategy.

We have created customized dashboards for clients who want to visualize all of their Paid Media activity from Google, Bing, Facebook, and Amazon within one chart. Conversely, we have also created custom reports for clients who want to view all paid activity in separate tables to analyze the efficiency of similar campaigns on different platforms. That’s the beauty of Data Studio; you have complete control over how your data is displayed.

By using connectors, you can import data from SalesForce and other CRMs to track campaign progress throughout the sales process. This is imperative for clients with service offerings that entail a prolonged sales process. Leads that your marketing efforts drive today may not convert for months, and gaining the ability to track and report on that lead at each stage of the process can help with the narrative that you present to your clients. This can also help your clients connect the dots and find any areas that can be improved within their sales funnel.

Custom Date Ranges

Data Studio gives you the ability to add date range segments to your reports, that can easily be toggled to view historical data. Using the date compare tool, all of your metrics can be automatically compared to the previous period (day, week, month, yera, etc.) and the delta will be displayed within your chart or table.

This can be especially beneficial for clients whose businesses depend on seasonality. For example, an eCommerce client who typically sells more products in the summer will not find much relevance or value in comparing the month of October to September, but will find great insights by comparing those metrics to the previous year.

Segments and Filters

Data Studio makes it simple to add segments and filters right in your dashboard. Display metrics segmented by channel, device, or user type to make your reports more relevant for your clients.

Using the available tools within Data Studio provides valuable insights into your work. Segmenting data by channel or campaign can easily showcase which aspects of your marketing strategy are working effectively and which parts need to be adjusted.

Geographic and Demographic Data

Data Studio offers many different visualizations to display the different insights that are available through Google Analytics and other platforms. The majority of clients would not know what to do with a list of geographic areas of different visitors to their website, but a simple map in Data Studio can easily show them where the majority of their potential customers are located.

Additionally, showing your client simple pie charts that break down their audience by age, gender, device, or day of the week can provide insights in a clean and simple way that give your clients actionable takeaways.

Focus on Your Clients’ KPIs

Data Studio gives you the ability to highlight the dimensions and metrics that are most important to your client’s bottom line. Instead of showing your client a report from Google Analytics and asking them to sift through the data to find how much revenue a given page from their website is actually driving, simply create a page report in Data Studio that displays metrics from Organic Search at the page level.

By focusing on the KPIs that matter to your clients, you can craft the right narrative in your reporting that shows how your marketing efforts have impacted their bottom lines. This will eliminate the background noise and allow them to focus on what is really important.

Create Goal Pacing Tables

The majority of clients will have very specific goals for revenue or lead generation each month and year. You can use Data Studio to create charts and tables that show them in real time how they are pacing toward those goals. In addition to giving your clients greater insight into the performance from their marketing efforts, it can also give you greater insight into which parts of the strategy are working effectively, and which parts may need to be adjusted to improve performance.

These insights are invaluable to your clients as a brand, and they will be invaluable to you as a marketer. Having the ability to measure the success of each of your campaigns (and share that information easily with your clients) gives you greater flexibility when it comes to the strategies that you implement with each client. It also provides you with the necessary data points to educate your clients on why you chose to push certain aspects of the strategy and move away from others.

Avoid Restrictions

Google Analytics and other platforms have strict limits on the amount of data sources, views, dimensions, and metrics that you can add to a single dashboard. Using Data Studio, you can eliminate these restrictions to include all of the viable data points that are important to your client’s business and your overall marketing strategy.

Sharing Reports

Data Studio gives you the ability to share your reports with your clients the same way that you would share a Google Doc. Simply add their email, send them a link, or require a sign-in to access the report. You can also export to PDF or publish on another website using an iframe to keep all client communication housed in one place.

Adjust Reporting with Changes in Business

A crucial component to Data Studio is that it gives you the ability to change your dashboards as your clients’ business needs change. For example, the start of your engagement with a company may be focused on building brand awareness, and your dashboard would likely be configured to display metrics based around impressions, mentions, and social shares.

However, throughout your next engagement, your client will likely be more focused on actual revenue or leads driven through their marketing efforts, while still being concerned with brand building. Data Studio makes it easy to change existing dashboards, supplement with new charts and tables, or add new pages to the report that display new metrics and goals.

It is this endless customization that gives Data Studio the edge over other reporting and data visualization platforms. The ability to showcase what is important to your client while also highlighting the impact of your marketing strategy will give all parties involved greater insight into future opportunities.